Picture Challenge #27: The Abandoned Library

redblood

Anxious Tomato Will Bite You!
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Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. One post per day
  3. 1-3 posts per week
  4. One post per week
  5. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
Afternoons, evenings and nights.
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Advanced
  4. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
Genres
Historical, fantasy, magic, horror, supernatural, survival, vampires, demons, pirates, mutants, ghosts, romance (FxF, MxM, MxF) (Romance should be part of the plot and not the whole plot in itself), etc.
INFO: They say that a picture can tell a thousand words. How many can you find?

Each week a new image will be posted, and your challenge will be to write whatever the image inspires you to write. It can be anything as long as it relates to the picture. A plot, a scene, a short story, a poem, a character, etc. You can write as much or as little as you wish. It's not the length that matters, it's what you put into it. There is no time limit to these challenges, so feel free to jump in at any time.


abandoned_library_concept_by_chibionpu-d8cu9wy.jpg

(Source)​
 
Books, Tomes, Scrolls, and Smartphones.

Long ago, the Four nations lived in harmony... but everything changed when the Smartphone Nation attacked.
 
Dust covered the surfaces,
Of stories lost to time.
Crumbling buildings,
Shattered bricks,
All pointing to a world in tatters.

Yellow sunlight shone down,
Lighting a room long hidden.
Dusty webs,
Choking vines,
Concealing it from the outside dangers.

Outside, screens lit the sky,
Banishing such rooms to memory.
Humming cars,
Flickering bulbs,
Beckoning to the perfect modern life.

Held them to her chest,
Clutched desperately to the past.
White knuckles,
Erratic breathing,
Closed her eyes against the future.​
 
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"Shhh..." she scolded her little brother, "I just want to take a peek."

"But we aren't allowed to go in there..you KNOW that.."

"Oh hush you big baby, how is anyone going to know if you don't tattle?"

"Mom ALWAYS knows...somehow."

"Pft," she sneered, though it was usually the case. She'd heard there were books here, and if that was true, they were worth a fortune. Why would anyone forbid someone to find a gold mine? She held the candle aloft as the door creaked open. She gasped as she saw the stacks and stacks of books, covered in dust and cobwebs but they were BOOKS, actual BOOKS.

She rushed over and set the candle down on the floor next to a tall stack and brushed the dust off the top book. Her hands were trembling as she opened the cover and saw the words, "I can't believe it..." she whispered reverently. "Gulliver's travels...Jonathan Swift...holy cow...1726..." She looked at her brother who was cowering by the door, "This was written in 1726...that was like 2000 years ago...can you even imagine?"

"That's great Lin...can we go now?"

"What? No!" she said vehemently as she held the book to her chest, "There is so much here to learn...how can we..."

"WHO'S THERE?" a loud voice echoed through the hall and rattled dust from the rafters down upon her.

Her brother was gone in a flash, leaving her there to face whatever or whoever had discovered her presence.

Lin scurried back toward the now closed door, grabbing her candle and holding tight to the book she'd found.

"What are you doing here?" the voice asked as it neared not quite as loud but still echoing and cold.

"I...I wanted to see the books..."

"Why?"

"Honestly?" she peeked up still not able to see where the voice was coming from, "Because I'm not supposed to..."

Laughter filled the hall then and most dust fell from the rafters. "That's why I first came too..."